The 4 songs released so far are awesome, legitimately listenable, and very much "them". Definitely a lot poppier than the rest of their non-Danger Days catalog, but it's still interesting and high energy. The lyrics are well-written. The vocals are just what I'd hope to hear from Gerard and that rules too.

This coming out now doesn't take away from how great the songs are, but I really wish this could have been the record they released. I can't believe they chose the Danger Days material over this. DD made me completely lose all faith and enthusiasm in a band I once considered to be one of my favorites. I feel bad about that, but I just can't get into any of those songs.

I can't lie though, I'm pretty stoked/interested in what they're doing again after hearing these songs. I know it's no indication of what they're probably going for in recent times, but it at least gives me hope that maybe the next record will be good. Hopefully it's more like this and less like DD.